April 1, 2005

Stroke Scale Training DVD Wins Prestigious CINE Gold Eagle Award

By Sue Pondrom

CINE Gold Eagle Award

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Stroke Scale Training DVD, which was filmed at the UCSD Medical Center under the guidance of Patrick Lyden, M.D. and the UCSD Stroke Center, has won a prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award. The DVD was produced by the Office of Communications and Public Liaison at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Lyden served as the DVD’s primary narrator and instructor, while 31 stroke patients and dozens of their family members volunteered to participate in the filming.

The CINE Golden Eagle awards, distinguishing excellence in professional and amateur works, are recognized internationally as symbols of the highest production standards in filmmaking and videography. Among great talents whose first major awards included the CINE Golden Eagle are Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and such great documentarians as Ken Burns, Charles Guggenheim, Stanley Nelson, and Frederick Wiseman.

The NIH Stroke Scale Training DVD is an interactive tool that teaches medical professionals how to administer and score the NIH Stroke Scale, a measure of stroke severity, in a clinical setting with stroke patients. The studio-produced footage provides clear views of doctors performing the scale and illustrates every score on each item of the scale. The DVD was designed to allow the viewer to easily stop and start, repeat, and move between sections as needed. The DVD includes 2 demonstration cases that allow viewers to self test; and 3 sets of patients for certification, which allows health care professionals to become accredited in the use of the scale. The two-disc set also includes commentary and tips from national stroke experts.

Since the DVD’s release, thousands of physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals have learned how to administer the NIH Stroke Scale. The NINDS partnered with the American Stroke Association to put the DVD footage online, so that medical professionals could have website access to the training.

In addition to Lyden, additional faculty for the DVD were John Marler, M.D., associate director for Clinical Trials, NINDS; Thomas F. Zimmerman, president of Health Ventures; Marian Emr, director of Communications and Public Liaison, NINDS; and Margo Warren, chief, Public Liaison Section, Office of Communications and Public Liaison, NINDS. The Video Production Unit of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide was responsible for shooting and editing the production.

CINE conducts two competitions each year; the current one began in August 2004. For those who win the Golden Eagle Awards, CINE has established two additional levels of competitive awards. The Special Jury Award recognizes the best films in the 26 CINE Golden Eagle categories. The CINE Master Series Awards (for the Professional Division winners) and the CINE Award of Excellence (for the Student and Adult Amateur Division winner) recognize the best of the best in the CINE competitions. The 2005 Master Series Awards and Awards of Excellence will be presented at the Annual CINE Awards Ceremony, to be held in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2005.

Media Contact: Sue Pondrom (619) 543-6163